How do I get a metallic look on buttercream or on fondant? I have an order for a snare drum cake this week and I'd like for it to be at least somewhat realistic.

you could try brushing on some type of edible luster dust. this may get expensive. any other suggestions?

I have mixed luster dust with alcohol and put it in my airbrush to spray on BC, but the dust buildup would clog the brush a little after long spraying, so I had to keep rinsing the brush. You really can't use a paintbrush on BC, so to spray is all I can think of. It would definitely be easier on fondant. You can use a paint brush or makeup brush to apply the luster dust.

where do you purchase luster dust?

i buy mine on ebay from jestercakesupply(?) for 2.49 for a 2gram bottle. shipping is 4.05 priority for any quantity. some of the photos do not accurately match the colors (shrimp-is more pink than orange: cranberry red is more hot pink than red.) but it is pretty good customer service.

HI Derby
It's me Marci- You can buy it at Crafts Frames and Things on OWen Drive IF you ever get a chance email me back- I'd love to meet up sometime
HTH yOU could also color fondant light gray and then paint it with your luster dust- I just use vanilla and the dust and it goes a long way

I've never made fondant, nor even used it yet. Can you buy precolored gray fondant? I'm now in a time crunch.

Also, do you use regular vanilla or the clear vanilla?

you can use store bought fondant- I would just add small amounts of black to it until you get the gray you need- lighter is better for the silver to show up on it. I use clear vanilla b/c I buy it in bulk I think reg vanilla might change the color of your luster dust.

try this... It's a trick that Mike and Duff use...

go to Home Depot or Lowes or your local paint supply store and buy a Preval sprayer (less than 10 bucks). Make sure it has the propellant can with it. Mix edible silver (or gold) with some vanilla vodka (mix very well) in the attachable jar that comes with the sprayer. attach the jar to the sprayer. Spray this on the drum shell to get the chrome look you want for the drum. Practice a couple of spray strokes first on a paper towel.

You can brush luster dust on buttercream. It is a little tricky, but it looks good. If you look in my photos at the purple cake I did that by using a basting brush coated in super pearl luster dust and shaking the dust off on to the icing. Once I did that, I lightly "swept" the basting brush over the dust on the icing to blend it in. I hope that made sense.

You can buy the wilton fondant at craft stores or Wal-Mart. But if you just need accents I would try making the MMF, bueause it stores good and you can use the rest later. It's easy if you use the receipe/technique in the article on this web site. Then you can just paint either the with MMF or color it grey first (I have done both) with the luster dust. I mix mine with everclear. I have also used it in the air brush with no problems. The everclear will also clean out your air brush if it gets clogged. It can also start a pretty good fire, if anyone cares to know.

Fondant would be a lot easier to paint on.. no need for it to dry. Brush will just glide on it. Buying luster dust from a store would be much expensive.
But I don't think mail order will get to to you on time. You can either use luster dust dry or make a paint, but use a small brush. On this one I used dry.

I have heard of people mixing luster dust with everclear to paint with it. Why do you use everclear? I read in a previous response that someone uses clear vanilla, would that give you the same result? Do you just mix it to the consistency of paint then?